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Background and Objectives: Clostridium difficile is a gram-positive obligate anaerobic bacillus. Accurate and rapid diagnosis of this bacterium as well as assessment of its drug resistance pattern are one of the important issues in controlling infections caused by C. difficile. The purpose of the present study was to detect toxicogenic C. difficile and to evaluate drug resistance pattern of these strains to routine therapeutic drugs. Methods: A total of 68 samples were collected from patients hospitalized in hospitals of Qom province. All samples were rapidly cultured in the specialized CCFA Agar medium.After these procedures, the bacteria were used for DNA extraction and then PCR was performed on the cdd3 gene for definitive detection of the bacteria. Finally, the presence of A and B toxins’ genes was determined by PCR and resistance to metronidazole, vancomycin, and clindamycin, was determined by agar dilution method. Chi-square test was used to analyze the results. Results: In this study, 6 isolates had A and B toxins, the highest antibiotic resistance was against clindamycin (45.45%) and metronidazole (36.36%), and all the isolates, were sensitive to vancomycin. Conclusion: Drug resistance pattern in the obtained strains still introduces vancomycin as the treatment of choice.

This paper presents a social work study on relationship between thinking style and self-esteem as well as socio-economic conditions among university students. The study selects 512 students from Islamic Azad University of Najafabad in province of Esfahan, Iran and distributes a questionnaire, which measures creativity and self-esteem. We also collect students’ socio-economic conditions and analyze the information. The results of our survey disclose that thinking style and self-esteem have overlap with each other. In addition, students with better socio-economic conditions are more creative and use complex style of thinking. The study also provides some guidelines for practically implementing the results of our survey among other students.

Background: Migraine is one of the most common etiologies for headache. This very common neurological disorder has a significant impact on patients' quality of life. The aim of the current study is to evaluate the prevalence of migraine among medical students in the Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences (HUMS). Methods: A total of 350 medical students were enrolled in our descriptive study. Data were collected using the standard questionnaire of the International Headache Association. The data were analyzed by SPSS 20.0 software using descriptive statistics, Chi-Square, and Independent Samples T-Test. A P-value of ≥0.05 was considered statistically significant, since most public health professionals use this value as a standard. Results: Among the medical students in our study, 24.6% had experienced frequent, severe headaches. The underlying causes of the headaches were diagnosed in 19.8% of the students. The prevalence of migraine in our study was 16.3% (mean age=21.28±2.71years). The prevalence varied by gender, and it was greater among male students. Conclusion: Our findings indicated that there was a high prevalence of migraine among the medical students in our study, and these findings were consistent with those of previous studies in Iran and other countries.

To compare the efficacy of acupressure wrist bands, ondansetron, metoclopramide and placebo in the prevention of vomiting and nausea after strabismus surgery. Two hundred patients, ASA physical status I or II, aged between 10 and 60 years, undergoing strabismus surgery in Farabi Hospital in 2007-2008 years, were included in this randomized, prospective, double-blind and placebo-controlled study. Group I was the Control, group II received metoclopramide 0.2 mg/kg, group III received ondansetron 0.15 mg/kg iv just before induction, in Group IV acupressure wristbands were applied at the P6 points. Acupressure wrist bands were placed inappropriately in Groups I, II and III. The acupressure wrist bands were applied 30 min prior to the induction of anesthesia and removed six hours after surgery. Postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) was evaluated within 0-2 hours and 2-24 hours after surgery by a blinded observer. Results were analyzed by X2 test. A P value of < 0.05 was taken as significant. The incidence of PONV was not significantly different in acupressure, metoclopramide and ondansetron during the 24 hours. Acupressure at P6 causes a significant reduction in the incidence of PONV 24 hours after strabismus surgery as well as metoclopramide 0.2 mg/kg and ondansetron 0.15 mg/kg iv for patients aged 10 or more.

Oral cancer (OC) is a significant global health issue, with high rates of both mortality and morbidity. Conventional treatments, including surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy, are commonly used, but they often come with serious side effects and may not fully eliminate cancer cells, resulting in recurrence and resistance to treatment. In recent years, natural products derived from plants and other biological sources have gained attention for their potential anticancer properties. These compounds offer advantages such as lower toxicity compared to traditional chemotherapy. Notable natural compounds like quercetin, berberine, curcumin, andrographolide, nimbolide, ovatodiolide, and cucurbitacin B have demonstrated effectiveness in inhibiting OC cell growth by targeting various signaling pathways involved in cancer progression. Recent breakthroughs in molecular biology have highlighted the crucial role of microRNAs (miRNAs) in the development of OC. Targeting dysregulated miRNAs with natural products offers a promising strategy for treating the disease. Natural compounds exert anticancer effects by influencing both altered cellular signaling pathways and miRNA expression profiles. This study aims to explore the role of miRNAs as potential molecular targets in OC and to investigate how natural products may regulate these miRNAs. Additionally, this review will shed light on the therapeutic potential of phytochemicals in modulating miRNA expression and their significance in OC treatment., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)